The Sharks Women beat Free State Women 36-30 in a see-saw Women’s Premier Division encounter at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
In the end, the Sharks had to rely on the Springboks on their bench to subdue the resurgent Cheetahs Queens, who fought back well after being outplayed early on in the match.
Sharks Women head coach Jason Hector admitted afterwards that he had hoped his team would get the job done without the likes of Springbok flyhalf Mary Zulu and scrumhalf Tayla Kinsey, and former Junior Bok prop Amanda Ndlovu, but his hand had been forced.
“The plan was actually to rest the Springboks because they’re going on camp tomorrow (Sunday),” he said. “But they were there when we needed them.”
For much of the first half, it looked like the team from Durban would not have any trouble getting the job done at home without their Boks, after fullback Sibongakonke Zuma had dotted down in the corner early on. Flyhalf Anesipho Malgas converted.
The Cheetahs were under pressure and conceded a slew of penalties at the breakdown, but the Sharks were not able to make more of their early dominance, despite a number of line-breaks and smart wing play. They were often let down by poor handling.
The visitors made them pay when a rare early foray into Sharks territory resulted in a penalty, which they kicked over to pull the score back to 7-3. But they were still struggling to make headway.
Even a yellow card for Sharks centre Mbali Bukhosini did not break the stranglehold, with the home team attacking relentlessly. They moved the ball through the hands with slick passing, and their front-row forwards were prominent on the drive.
With the Cheetahs tryline under siege, Sharks scrumhalf Snethemba Mzimela picked up a loose ball off the back of the ruck to dot down.
The Cheetahs were hanging on, and seemed unable to string passages of play together.
Malgas kicked over another penalty (17-3) after a strong kick chase by Sharks No 8 Megan Comely, who had a good all-round game. The Cheetahs were in disarray, but some poor handling by the Sharks gave them a foothold in the game.
Sharks prop Sinothile Bhengu and hooker Sinenhlanhla Makhubu were solid defensively, though, putting in some good hits.
The Sharks then broke from close to their tryline with winger Ulender Khumalo sprinting the length of the field to dot down in the corner despite efforts to hunt her down. It was a contender for the try of the match.
The Cheetahs started to build some pressure of their own, and got their just rewards with a try and conversion. Star scrumhalf Charlize Jacobs would be at the heart of much of the good work as the Cheetahs mounted an unlikely comeback.
The visitors were increasingly exploiting space behind the Sharks defence with clever cross-kicks.
A rolling maul from a scrum as the halftime hooter sounded resulted in a Cheetahs try that took them to the break trailing 22-15.
The visitors from Free State started the second half the brighter of the two teams, winning a succession of penalties.
One of the goal attempts struck the upright, and the Sharks were caught napping as the Cheetahs pounced on the loose ball. The Sharks were trailing for the first time (25-22).
The Sharks seemed to have been shell-shocked, and the substitutes were taken through their paces on the sidelines. They made four changes, and the replacements helped turned the game on its head.
Zulu and Kinsey were instrumental in driving their team forward, dictating play and gaining territory for their team with boot and ball in hand.
The scrum was also more stable with the introduction of Ndlovu.
They gave the ball air, and the Cheetahs were increasingly stretched. Sharks No 6 Nomonde Mbanjwa scored the next try.
They made it 36-25 when No 11 Kwanele Zungu went over in the corner. The Cheetahs would capitalise on a late yellow for Zungu with a try off a rolling maul to leave the final score 36-30.
“The Cheetahs were amazing, good in broken play. They put us under pressure a lot, and when we made mistakes, they were on us,” coach Hector said afterwards.
“For our girls, it was a good test of our emotional maturity, especially when you are under the cosh, with things not going for you.
“We started well, and kind of had to dig deep to come back into it.”
In the other Women’s Premier Division matches on Saturday, the Bulls Daisies thrashed Western Province 69-0 in Pretoria, Boland beat Eastern Province 59-5 in Wellington, and Border beat the Golden Lions 27-12 in East London.